...GRAND RAPIDS Mich. June 27 2012 /- Van Andel Inst... A major unmet medical need is a therapy that slows disease progressio...Previous research demonstrates that a misfolded protein gradually appe... This is a cellular process likely to lead to the disease process as P...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Van Andel Institute announces that researchers at Lund University in Sweden have published a study detailing how Parkinson's disease spreads through the brain. Experiments in rat models uncover a process previously used to explain mad cow disease, in which misfolded proteins travel from sick to healthy cells.

"A major unmet medical need is a therapy that slows disease progression," said Patrik Brundin M.D., Ph.D., Jay Van Andel Endowed Chair in Parkinson's Research at Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), Head of the Neuronal Survival Unit at Lund University and senior author of the study. "We aim to better understand how Parkinson's pathology progresses and thereby uncover novel molecular targets for disease-modifying treatments."

Previous research demonstrates that a misfolded protein gradually appears in healthy neurons transplanted to the brains of Parkinson's patients. In the current study, published this week in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) One, researchers were able to follow events in the recipient cell as it accepts the diseased protein. The experiments also show how the transferred proteins attract proteins in the host cell leading to abnormal folding or "clumping" inside the cells.

"This is a cellular process likely to lead to the disease process as Parkinson's progresses, and it spreads to an increasing number of brain regions as the patient gets sicker," said Elodie Angot, Ph.D., of Lund University's Neuronal Survival Unit, and lead author of the study.

The research at Neuronal Survival Unit, Lund University, Sweden is focused on pathogenetic mechanisms and pharmacological treatment in cell and animal models of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. The group's mission is to understand neurodegenerative diseases and develop new therapies that are of benefit to patients and their caregivers. http://www.med.lu.se/expmed/neuronal_survival_unit

Van Andel Institute

Van Andel Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science, and to achieving excellence in education by probing fundamental issues of education and the learning process. This is accomplished through the work of over 200 researchers and in collaborative partnerships that span the globe. www.vai.org

(Date:12/8/2016)... AskLinkerReports.com has published a report on ... Industry 2016 Market Research Report. From a basic outline of ... are all covered in the report. This report projects investment ... of the Amyloglucosidase industry. ... , , Complete ...

(Date:11/29/2016)... , Nov. 29, 2016 BioDirection, a privately ... products for the objective detection of concussion and other ... has successfully completed a meeting with the U.S. Food ... blood test Pre-Submission Package. During the meeting company representatives ... as a precursor to commencement of a planned pilot ...

(Date:11/22/2016)... 2016 According to the new market research report ... Vein, Signature, Voice), Multi-Factor), Component (Hardware and Software), Function (Contact and Non-contact), ... market is expected to grow from USD 10.74 Billion in 2015 to ... 2016 and 2022. Continue Reading ... ...

(Date:11/17/2016)... , Nov. 17, 2016 AIC announces that it has just released a new ... that require high-performance scale-out plus high speed data transfer storage solutions. Photo ... ... ... Setting up a high performance computing ...